Review – Guardians of the Galaxy

Like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting stretch, Wilt Chamberlain scoring 50-points in seven consecutive games and the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ perfect season, we are witnessing a truly impressive streak that may never be matched. Since 2008’s Iron Man, Disney and Marvel have been putting together an amazing string of movies that continue to build a massive cinematic universe while delivering entertaining stories that appeal to the masses. Some of the films have been less entertaining than others, but as a whole, it’s really quite surprising how good these films have been.

Not content to simply rest on their laurels, Guardians of the Galaxy is perhaps Marvel’s most ambitious and risky film to date. It contains no characters that casual comic book fans are familiar with. It takes place almost entirely in a galaxy far removed from Earth. And two of it’s main characters are a sentient tree and an anthropomorphized raccoon.

So I’m pleased to tell you that while Guardians of the Galaxy is high risk, it is also high reward. While the film feels a bit like a mash up Star Wars, Serenity and common comic book tropes, these element combine to create something wholly unique. Even if this wasn’t tied to the larger Marvel cinematic universe (which, to be quite honest, it only is tangentially at this point), director James Gunn and his cast have created a rich world that I would love to revisit as often as possible.

The film centers around Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), a.k.a. Star-Lord, a man from Earth who is abducted as a child and raised by a band of space thieves called the Ravagers (led by a blue-tinted Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta). Quill abandons the Ravagers and strikes out on his own, stealing a priceless orb that is more powerful than he can possibly imagine.

His theft of the object sets off a chain of events and puts him in the cross hairs of many dangerous people. In fact, the rest of his ragtag team of misfits – Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) – all start out hunting down Quill and only reluctantly end up joining him.

I’m a sucker for underdog stories and Guardians of the Galaxy does a great job portraying these five as a band of misfits who need each other because no one else will tolerate them. The film has a rather beautiful running theme of friendship that totally worked for me. But it delivers that theme with a soft touch, using heavy doses of humor and action to keep from ever taking itself too seriously.

What I also enjoyed about the film is just how inept Quill’s crew actually is. None of them, with the possible exception of Gamora, seem particularly smart or adept at winning this battle. Two of them – Drax the Destroyer and Groot – are both essentially empty-headed muscle. Quill himself has his moments of cleverness, but he mostly just looks before he leaps. And Rocket is handy with mechanical devices, but tends to trust firepower over any tactical maneuvering.

The film looks absolutely beautiful and the CGI is amazing. Both Rocket, the anthropomorphic raccoon, and Groot, the sentient tree, are entirely CGI. And they are flawless. The level of detail in Rocket’s fur and Groot’s bark is quite impressive. And the entire galaxy the film takes place with is filled with immaculately-rendered spaceships and landscapes that are a joy to view.

Gunn delivers on the action sequences, using a steady hand to deliver crisp, easy to follow battle scene that have a visceral punch to them.

Gunn also manages to inject a lot of his trademark humor into the film. Anyone who has watched his Troma films or his P.G. Porn shorts knows that Gunn has a dry, wicked sense of humor, which is prevalent throughout Guardians.

The performances are top notch as well. Chris Pratt totally channels his inner Han Solo to play Quill as a lovable reluctant hero. Zoe Saldana brings both an intensity and a vulnerability to Gamora that was really captivating. And I predict this to be a breakout film for WWE wrestler Dave Bautista, who brings not just a believable brutality to Drax, but also a keen sense of comic timing. Michael Rooker and John C. Reilly are both quite enjoyable in their supporting roles. As is Karen Gillan, who plays Gamora’s adopted sister and rival Nebula.

The soundtrack is also quite delightful. Featuring songs like “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Spirit in the Sky” and “Come and Get Your Love,” all of the pop songs in the film come from Quill’s “Awesome Mix Vol. 1” mix tape, which was given to him by his mom. It’s the one personal item Quill had on him when he was abducted and his only real connection to the life he left behind on Earth.

The only true weak spot of the movie is its villain. Ronan (Lee Pace) is the film’s antagonist. He wants the orb because he believes it will help him conquer the other people on his planet, who he currently has an uneasy truce with that he would very much like to violate in order to conquer the globe. But Ronan is incredibly one-dimensional and mostly serves as a villainous McGuffin who gives our heroes a unified purpose.

Nebula and Thanos (Josh Brolin) prove to be much more interesting foes, but neither one is given much to do. Thanos, of course, is the large blue creature briefly seen at the end of The Avengers as the mastermind behind Loki’s attack on Earth. He is the film’s only real connection to the larger Marvel universe at this point, though it will be fun to see if/when the Guardians become more involved in the struggles on Earth.

But even if these characters are never integrated into the stories on Earth, I’m just excited to see more stories with Peter Quill and his band of misfits. Gunn and Co. have done a great job with this lesser-known franchise, continuing Marvel’s unrivaled streak of summer blockbusters.

It’s nice to see the good guys win once again.

Written by Joel Murphy. If you enjoy his reviews, he also writes a weekly pop culture column called Murphy’s Law, which you can find here. You can contact Joel at murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com.